June 20, 2007

Operator faces discipline in incident involving 14-year old girls

TriMet announced that a 64-year old male operator will face disciplinary action for an incident occurring on June 8, 2007 on Line 12-Barbur Blvd involving two 14-year old girls. The discipline stems from the operator violating several agency procedures and policies while driving a bus. The operator has worked for TriMet for 11 years.

At around 5 p.m. a rider complained to the operator that two riders were kissing on the bus. The operator approached them and later asked them to leave the bus. The riders’ actions did not warrant being removed from the bus, and TriMet policy requires operators to call for assistance before removing a minor off the bus.

“TriMet sincerely apologizes to the girls and their families for this incident. Removing the girls from the bus was not consistent with our policy. I want to reiterate that we welcome all riders on our system,” said TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen.

TriMet does not release details of the disciplinary proceedings or the final results of the proceedings, as protected by public records law. TriMet is not releasing the operator’s name per standard procedure when an employee is involved in a complaint.